'Siege of Terra - The End and the Death Volume 1' by Dan Abnett

[Sothalor]

I'm enjoying the grandiose language so far. I get it's not for everybody, but it lends a sort of operatic, mythic melodrama to it all. It feels like reading an epic poem (which is, admittedly a rather niche and archaic format these days) - it evokes shades of Paradise Lost or the Nibelungenlied or The Faerie Queene for me.

 

My first exposure to the climactic Emperor vs Horus duel was the old Collected Visions artbook, which indeed had all sorts of fantastic, evocative art. Unfortunately, a lot of that text was written by Alan Merrett, the GW IP "headmaster" - and that dude was not a writer. All I remember of the descriptions/prose were awful; clunky and cringey and banal.

 

So yeah, I'll take esoteric poetry and Malcador's stream of consciousness run-on sentences and heartfelt, quiet goodbyes to his old friend over "Then Horus hit the Emperor in the arm. Then Horus hit him in the face. Then Horus hit him on the left. Then he hit him on the right. It hurt."

[Roomsky]

28 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

 

Challenge accepted.

 

This is terrible, but no refunds.

 

  Hide contents

"Get off my ship," Old Horus cried,

"And cease thy absquatulation!

For the Loyalists aboard my ship indeed,

Are causing consternation."

 

"It's Volume 3," waxed He on Earth

The Master of Mankind,

"I'm here for a punch-up son,

And here to win, you'll find!"

 

"Forsooth?" Horus gave retort,

"Oh to choke out your last breath!

For now it comes to pass I say,

It is The End and Death!"

 

"I trusted you, thy reeking knave!"

The Emperor said, unbent,

"Yet thou art just a rebel slave,

Forth into dark be sent!"

 

With great power and mighty fast,

Did the Emperor shriek and Horus blast,

Was traitor slain and then downcast.

Please buy the LE Book Fast.

 

 

It's perfect.

Edited March 9, 2023 by Roomsky

[Noserenda]

14 hours ago, Dornfist said:

Agreed. What did you make of Dan Abnett suddenly introducing us the word "Astartesian"? I laughed out loud when I read that and when the book's title was dropped/mentioned multiple times in the book.

100% this. Like, it works as a slur from the Custodes but when people start using it straight it gets ridiculous.

People randomly dissing William Kings version without reading it should probably check it out, it actually feels poetic rather than being jarred out of the narrative a couple of times a chapter by a pretentious word choice.

Edited March 9, 2023 by Noserenda
fixing double post thingy

[Moonreaper666]

3 hours ago, Sothalor said:

I'm enjoying the grandiose language so far. I get it's not for everybody, but it lends a sort of operatic, mythic melodrama to it all. It feels like reading an epic poem (which is, admittedly a rather niche and archaic format these days) - it evokes shades of Paradise Lost or the Nibelungenlied or The Faerie Queene for me.

 

My first exposure to the climactic Emperor vs Horus duel was the old Collected Visions artbook, which indeed had all sorts of fantastic, evocative art. Unfortunately, a lot of that text was written by Alan Merrett, the GW IP "headmaster" - and that dude was not a writer. All I remember of the descriptions/prose were awful; clunky and cringey and banal.

 

So yeah, I'll take esoteric poetry and Malcador's stream of consciousness run-on sentences and heartfelt, quiet goodbyes to his old friend over "Then Horus hit the Emperor in the arm. Then Horus hit him in the face. Then Horus hit him on the left. Then he hit him on the right. It hurt."

 

There is a good chance Dan will go in the middle, a hybrid approach, in regards to writing THE DUEL

 

I wonder how Dan will handle the other important fights:

 

Spoiler

Erebus vs John and his Argonauts

 

Dorn vs Samus Round 2

 

Abaddon vs Loken

 

[Nagashsnee]

39 minutes ago, EnsignJoker said:

Man, the Emperor and Malcador are hot stuff in regards to their original plan for Magnus. I’m glad he wrecked everything and became a daemon prince lol. 

?? Before Magnus broke the wards it was not hellish fate it is now. Neither were you trapped there 24/7. Sitting on the throne was basically moderating the wards/currents on the human web. Plus this was all during the pre Alpha phase of development.  If the webway project had gone on and they had worked out all the bugs it would probably have been a pretty cushy gig. 

 

Edit: UPS finally notified me that it is getting delivered today, for anyone else still worrying/waiting on their package. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Nagashsnee

[Fire Golem]

6 hours ago, Noserenda said:

100% this. Like, it works as a slur from the Custodes but when people start using it straight it gets ridiculous.

People randomly dissing William Kings version without reading it should probably check it out, it actually feels poetic rather than being jarred out of the narrative a couple of times a chapter by a pretentious word choice.

 

Why are you assuming the people who are ‘dissing’ William King’s version haven’t read it? Seems like a leap. 

[DukeLeto69]

13 hours ago, Roomsky said:

I'll admit that I am guilty of the greatest Heresy: I think every version of Horus vs The Emperor written in detail before now sucks. Yes, even King's. Horus and the Emperor just sort of hitting each other, Horus tearing off the Emperor's arm, it's all so lacklustre.

 

My big hope for the final book is Abnett can write something genuinely awe-inspiring or epic for their confrontation. I'll take something excessively poetic over what we have currently.

I want the fight to be simultaneously taking place in real space and the immaterium with time flowing differently. Seconds pass in real space as they trade blows. Hours or days pass in the warp as they trade verbal barbs and philosophical discourse.

 

Or even months/years in the warp with great battles involving huge armies that reflect AoS type fighting. The armies being a warp manifestation of both their immense power, martial prowess, and strategic/tactical acumen.    

Edited March 9, 2023 by DukeLeto69

[Noserenda]

3 hours ago, fire golem said:

Why are you assuming the people who are ‘dissing’ William King’s version haven’t read it? Seems like a leap. 

Because someone on the last page literally said they hadnt read it but Abnett would do better? 

[Sothalor]

3 hours ago, Noserenda said:

Because someone on the last page literally said they hadnt read it but Abnett would do better? 

 

Nobody said that. One person pointed out that there are people for whom the current set of novels is their first experience with the Horus Heresy, and thus have no investment in it adhering to previously published materials.

[Dornfist]

16 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

 

Challenge accepted.

 

This is terrible, but no refunds.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

"Get off my ship," Old Horus cried,

"And cease thy absquatulation!

For the Loyalists aboard my ship indeed,

Are causing consternation."

 

"It's Volume 3," waxed He on Earth

The Master of Mankind,

"I'm here for a punch-up son,

And here to win, you'll find!"

 

"Forsooth?" Horus gave retort,

"Oh to choke out your last breath!

For now it comes to pass I say,

It is The End and Death!"

 

"I trusted you, thy reeking knave!"

The Emperor said, unbent,

"Yet thou art just a rebel slave,

Forth into dark be sent!"

 

With great power and mighty fast,

Did the Emperor shriek and Horus blast,

Was traitor slain and then downcast.

Please buy the LE Book Fast.

 

Literal perfection lol. Kudos!

[tgcleric]

12 hours ago, Sothalor said:

 

Nobody said that. One person pointed out that there are people for whom the current set of novels is their first experience with the Horus Heresy, and thus have no investment in it adhering to previously published materials.

Yeah. And if that person is me, I went ahead and read Kings short story (couple of them actually as they are very readable).

 

And its..it's... fine. It's a step above a codex. It's not even a slight against King, it's just a different thing. It's mostly a concise descriptor of what happens. Like a slightly flowery book report. It's what he was paid to do. 

 

It's not really a story. 

 

I love the game. I love the lore. And I love a lot of the novels. I can compartmentalize them and not think any of them should sacrifice the things that are best for their medium for some sort of universal IP truth. 

 

Reminds me of when a game tries to balance weapons for pve and pvp. It's impossible. 

 

Also amusing to be worried about lore discrepancies, as if history, even recent history, is often contradictory and full of discrepancies. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by tgcleric

[Nagashsnee]

The King version is superior if only for the fact that it DID explain how Rogal Dorn and the fists got back to the palace  . 

 

 

[Fedor]

King's Assault on Holy Terra is a classic. The Emperor and Horus...much less so. I imagine he would have changed/refined it substantially, if later a chance to write a full book about it all.

[Corinthus]

So... do we have an ETA for the second volume? How long are they going to drag the next release?

[Nagashsnee]

10 minutes ago, Corinthus said:

So... do we have an ETA for the second volume? How long are they going to drag the next release?

 

They cant give a release date for the book without confirming if it is the last one or not.  If we assume ( a safe bet) that this was a recent decision ( based on the difference between printed vs ebook ending statements) they might be still sorting out printing for the latter books and thus wont want to tie themselves to any dates just yet.

Edited March 10, 2023 by Nagashsnee

[Preliminary Bombardment]

Read this , only returning to the internet now to avoid spoilers.

 

I enjoyed this but it's way too long, I really hope there's only one more of these. It's time to finish this

 

[EverythingIsGreat]

Hello all, this is my first post (I think), but have been following the board for a long while (I may have registered years ago under some different handle… don’t remember). The interesting discussion prompted me to join.

The Horus Heresy, specifically Horus Rising is what made me interested in Warhammer. I believe I have read every official item surrounding the Heresy lore and background, including the game materials, WD articles, etc. I am also familiar with the rest of the WH40K background, and the current state of the lore.

The latest installment (TEATD) held my interest,  the good parts outshone the bad. If there was one word to characterize what the book is pointing at imo that word would be “fog”. I believe the book is trying to push the idea that at this stage of the storyline, not a single character has a clear idea of what the results of their actions will be. Uncertainty and confusion  is the status in all sides, nevermind the posturing, including by the chaos gods. Dan Abnett may have purposefully muddied the waters, writing the story in a progressively disjointed and vague manner. Preaching to the choir (us), he is perhaps making the narrative itself an immersive experience, so the way the story is told reflects (and adds to) the fog. Or I may be totally wrong; or he just messed up and did a sub-par job of it. Which is also increasing the fog :).

Outside of that, to restate the obvious, the core GW business is wargaming systems. Everything else is an auxiliary affair and/or a tie-in for the core business. The background cannot veer too wide of the game, although it is a relatively painless way of testing ideas that may appear in the game in some form.

In the original game background (1987) the Emperor was “the first of a new race of humans” interred in the then partly biological Throne. The first description was in WD #93 (October 1987, the WH40K preview), although there were hints and advertisements earlier. Obviously there had to be a reason for him to be interred. Again IIRC hints about a “betrayal” were dropped in following issues of WD. Then the Horus Heresy appeared canonically in the background for the first time in Rick Priestley’s first “Chapter Approved” article in WD #96 (December 1987). That small blurb, in the history of RG’s “Raven Wing” is more interesting for the details that still hold to this day, 36 years of development later. It is logical  that there was discussion on the “betrayal” before the December 1987 article was published.

The first Adeptus Titanicus game (1988) featured battles during the Horus Heresy. The Horus Heresy card game (2003) is basically a blueprint in very general and condensed form for the later BL series, touching the major battles and locations that the novels cover. Both Horus Heresy board games (1993 and 2010) are basically Siege of Terra board games. That should have given a hint that the Siege of Terra may have been considered as a (sub)-setting, which would logically imply multiple background novels. One can reasonably make the case that the Heresy was part of Warhammer all along, not just as a background, but as part of possible planned future development of the game itself. Even later additions like the Primaris would need an entirely new explanation if not for the Heresy, and not just in background.

I wouldn’t think that Abnett can take too many liberties here. Any new (?) idea he comes up with may have some tie into concrete or dim plans regarding the game itself, or it may have been vetted as neutral and harmless where the game is concerned. After all he is a professional writing a novel, and is presumably  trusted to know what plot twists or narrative style can work for his audience.

The novel is not as good as other Abnett works, but I enjoyed it.

Edited March 12, 2023 by EverythingIsGreat
corrected date

[Urauloth]

Loving this book so far, but I can't let "unreaved" go without comment. That's not a word I expected to see anyone use in the prose of a novel.

[DukeLeto69]

Wonder if Abnett will still rush the actual ending? (trope joke ;-) )

[Urauloth]

I think Abnett is hooked up to his own golden throne now, absorbing the contents of a thousand thesauruses a day. This will give him the power he needs to write an unrushed ending.

[System Sound]

We had two metaphysical blades. Now get ready for two metaphorical endings!

Edited March 13, 2023 by System Sound

[EverythingIsGreat]

Don't really want to turn this into "things I like least about TEATD" but Sanguinius' therapy session with Emp/Malc ("boohoo why must we suffer" with answers from Platitude Central) was probably the worst part for me.

Edited March 13, 2023 by EverythingIsGreat

[Scribe]

37 minutes ago, EverythingIsGreat said:

Don't really want to turn this into "things I like least about TEATD" but Sanguinius' therapy session with Emp/Malc ("boohoo why must we suffer" with answers from Platitude Central) was probably the worst part for me.

 

Randomly changing Primarch characterization? In this series? I never...

[wecanhaveallthree]

Ruinstorm!Sanguinius is still the absolute best iteration of the character, for me. He's ready to kick destiny in the unmentionables, throw his brothers out of airlocks and KILL GOD. I was so incredibly sad to see him get reformatted by his next appearance, because a positive, active Sanguinius who isn't mired in deterministic navel-gazing was a far more interesting character than the endless 'I do not die this day'.

 

That whole book is full of amazing scenes for everyone's favourite wingy boi, but cutting the knot and 'son of my blood! son of my hope!' are just beautiful.

 

 

[Moonreaper666]

3 hours ago, EnsignJoker said:

  Hide contents

Question about the part the Argonauts (ugh, Dan) are being led to the Throne Room. Are we supposed to know what Oll thinks he sees down a hallway? I don’t know if that was alluding to something cluing him in the emperor is gone, or if that’s a cliff hanger of something (Erebus?) to be revealed in the next book? He says there’s no time to go back and check, and then they’re brought to Vulkan so it’s glazed over extremely quickly. 

 

Spoiler

I bet Erebus is inside the Palace waiting for his moment to kill Pius and ensure Horus's victory and ascension to be a Chaos God

 

Olly was not Jason but he was an Argonaut so he sees his party as his own Argonauts. Just like how Kage sees his ragtag group in Armageddon Saints as his own Last Chancers

 

The Emperor won't be holding back this time around but would still lose to Horus. Olly's Enuncia would weaken the Warmaster so the Emps can kill him

 

Ollianius and some of his group will get inside the Vengeful Spirit somehow. The others fend off Erebus and help Vulkan protect Malcador